CBT for Communication and Language Problems
Children with social, emotional, and behavioral difficulties (SEBD) often exhibit speech, language, and communication needs (SLCN) as well. Clinicians and educators who work with these children have the challenge of identifying which type of treatments will best serve the needs of these special children. SEBD has been shown to be linked to communication deficits, but this relationship has not been fully explored. Gender, social conditions, intelligence, and relationship styles are factors that contribute to both SLCN and SEBD. Most children with these problems are not identified until they enter... Read More
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Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) includes a range of mental health issues including Asperger’s syndrome, 
Mental health issues can start at a young age, so it’s important for new parents to know what signs and symptoms to look for in their child.
In fact, according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) website, around 1 in 5 children in the United States currently have or at some point have had a “seriously debilitating mental disorder.” The NIMH also states on its website that “mental disorders are common among children,” which emphasizes the importance of detecting issues at an early age to possibly prevent a lifelong struggle.
Some mental disorders are thought to be even... 
One of the most difficult parts of raising a child with autism is the fear of losing them. For my son, the combination of intelligence, impulsivity, and an inability to comprehend danger results in my family living in a constant state of hypervigilance and fear. When we go out, there is always the possibility he will try to run away. When we're home, there is the fear that he will get out of the house. Our family has addressed this issue with an ability to think "outside the box" and one step ahead of our 14-year-old son, Ben.
1. Under lock and key
The most obvious way to keep a child safe... 
We know very little about the effects of environmental toxicity on the developing brain, but toxicity is a suspected cause, or maybe one of several causes, of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Less than 50 of the 3,000 chemicals common in our everyday lives have been sufficiently tested for safety. The recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) that 1 in 88 children are diagnosed with autism makes all research related to this disorder, including the effects of toxicity, seem urgent. A problem this prevalent, and one that requires long-term medical and social services... 
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) released its official autism rates this morning: 1 in 88. The rates for boys are even more frightening: 1 in 54. I've been sitting at my desk trying to wrap my brain around these numbers, because to me, they are not numbers, they are shattered lives. My son IS the 1 in 54. He was born in 1997 when rates were somewhere around 1 in 500. He's only 14. In 14 years, this is the explosion. Worst of all, our government has not yet called a national emergency.
Here is the real emergency: For every "1" in these statistics, there are two parents, four... 
I believe the answer to that question can be summed up in the wonderful poem that follows, by Emily Perl Kingsley…
Welcome to Holland
I am often asked to describe the experience of raising a child with a disability—to try to help people who have not shared that unique experience to understand it, to imagine how it would feel. It’s like this….
When you’re going to have a baby, it’s like planning a fabulous vacation trip—to Italy. You buy a bunch of guidebooks and make your wonderful plans. The Coliseum. The Michelangelo David. The gondolas in Venice. You may learn some handy... 
Last month’s post focused on what NOT to do and say to a parent who has just been faced with an autism diagnosis. I received lots of feedback and was thrilled by the response. Many of you shared your similar experiences and offered the things that you found most helpful during that very vulnerable time. So what does effective comforting look like?
Hope
Many parents tell me they needed a sense of hope and that finding the right book, teacher, counselor, or doctor helped foster that hope—hope that this wasn’t the end of their dreams for their child and hope that their child could learn,... 
The right hemisphere of the brain has been studied in relation to generalized 
Oxytocin is a nonapeptide that helps alleviate contractions during childbirth and stimulates milk production for breast-feeding. Oxytocin also affects key regions of the brain that influence social behaviors. Recent studies have shown that oxytocin increases certain types of eye movement and negative evaluation of emotions in people with 
When my son was initially diagnosed with autism he was three-and-a-half. It was the year 2000, and he was right at the crest of what I call "the autism tsunami"—when the number of cases began to exponentially explode. I remember being hesitant to call and tell people, not because of what I had to tell them, but because of the reactions people had. Now that I am treating parents of children with autism on a daily basis, I have recognized similar patterns in the comforting styles and reactions of my patients' friends and family. I've identified three styles of comforting that are least helpful.
The... 
In my efforts as a counselor, helping couples and individuals raise children with autism, I've combined what I learned in school with what I've learned in my own journey. My last blog talked about that gravitational pull autism has on a family. I'd like to address a few ways we can limit that pull from affecting every aspect of our lives negatively. These are not quick fixes, and you won't find a step-by-step guide here. It's a process that requires daily practice, much like yoga. There is no end point, and you will not have “arrived”; it's ongoing. I like to call it living mindfully and with... 
Definition: Gravitational Pull; The attraction that one object has for another object due to the invisible force of gravity. The mass of an object affects its gravitational pull. The gravitational pull of the Sun keeps the planets in orbit around it.
I was counseling a couple the other day, with a newly diagnosed child. Let's call them John and Mary. Mary described feeling unappreciated by her husband, tired all the time, and frustrated by having to "do everything" around the house. John complained that Mary spent all of her time with their 3-year-old son, Jimmy, who is severely affected by... 
Teachers and parents of children with 
